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Colorado's 3 top Democrats to miss Obama event at Cheesman Park

By Mark Matthews and Kurtis Lee The Denver Post

Posted:
07/07/2014 03:45:32 PM MDT

President Barack Obama. (Jacquelyn Martin, AP file photo)

WASHINGTON — The biggest name in the Democratic Party plans to speak Wednesday at Denver's Cheesman Park, but President Barack Obama won't be sharing the stage with three Colorado Democrats now in the fight of their political careers.

Missing from the morning event — which is closed to the public but open to the media — will be U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, Gov. John Hickenlooper and Andrew Romanoff, the former state House speaker now running for a seat in Congress.

All three Democrats are locked in competitive elections this fall, but aides to each one said the boss won't be attending the event because of prior commitments. The White House said Obama would be talking about the economy and the president's efforts to shore up economic opportunity for the middle class.

Ryan Call, state Republican chairman, said in a statement that Udall and Hickenlooper were "doing everything they can to run" from Obama.

Similarly, a campaign aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman — the Republican incumbent whom Romanoff is trying to unseat — asked in an e-mail whether "Romanoff (is) still on Obama's team, or is he on Colorado's team?"

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For their part, Democratic officials said the Republican attacks were misleading. The reason the three politicians are not expected to attend, they said, is a matter of logistics — and late notice by the White House.

"The governor has been confirmed since late May to attend a veterans' event on Wednesday morning in Colorado Springs. We learned only this morning about the POTUS event at Cheesman Park," wrote Eric Brown, a Hickenlooper spokesman, in a response Monday to questions.

Added Chris Harris, a Udall spokesman: "This has nothing to do with wanting to be with (Obama) or not. This is just logistics."

But one political analyst was skeptical, especially with Obama scheduled to appear later Wednesday at a Democratic fundraiser that Udall plans to attend.

"I don't think there are accidents when it comes to the president's schedule, and I don't think there are accidents when it comes to senators and members of Congress and their schedules," said Nathan Gonzales, an analyst with the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report.

Still, Gonzales said some Democrats ultimately could regret not tying themselves more to Obama — although that largely depends on how voters feel about the economy come November.

"I think the president is going to be a factor in this fall's election, (but) we don't know yet if the president is going to be a liability or an asset," he said. "Right now we're in a holding pattern."

Obama is expected to fly into Denver on Tuesday evening and stay overnight. After the Cheesman Park event, he'll head to a fundraiser at the city's downtown Westin, where he'll help raise money for Democrats such as Udall, who faces U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate.

Ahead of the event, Udall's campaign used the fundraiser as a way to entice donations from supporters — offering a chance to attend the fundraiser in exchange for contributions.

"I'm grateful for President Obama's support in this U.S. Senate race, and I'm looking forward to bringing him out to Colorado for a campaign event," wrote Udall in a fundraising e-mail. "But I'm especially excited to introduce him to you, friend."

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